Music and Movies in September, 2014

Here comes the music!

Aaaaaaaand here come the movies!!

I thought my favorite was going to be Yves Saint Laurent and then I saw Frankie and Alice and thought twice.  They are so different that I would have to name both as my favorites of the month.  A surprise hit with me was Non-Stop.  I saw A Most Wanted Man in a screening so can’t call that a “surprise” as I did not pay to go but nevertheless it was a great film.

In any event I think I would give recognition to Yves Saint Laurent.

And while watching the film I remembered that I had been to the house where Yves Saint Laurent lived in Marrakesh, Morocco.

 

Cats in Riga

I always try to take pictures of cats when I’m travelling.  I just like them and like capturing their expressions.

Something from the past:-

Cats in Amsterdam

In Budapest

In Fes, Marrakech, and Essaouira

In different cities and villages of Bhutan

Sadly during my entire Baltic trip, while I saw a couple of cats in passing (including once from the bus near the border of Lithuania and Latvia, I think on the Latvian side), I was unable to get them on my camera.  I don’t know where they exist in the Baltics.  All domesticated and no stray cats??

Here is something else though from Riga: the famous black cat (well, two of them).

Cat House/Kaķu māja

And there is a counterpart dog that our guide told us was observing the cats…

Sunday Cooking Time

Went for the all-fish cookbook by Yoko Arimoto last night that called for kinmedai.  I picked this up at the supermarket.

I love the pinkish red of kinmedai. Very pretty.

Simmering would be about the best way to have the fish if not as sashimi.

So glad my supermarket had this small-portion kinome pack. They are the leaves of Japanese pepper that when cupped between hands and clapped with a popping sound (as wikipedia explains), they bring out a very nice aroma.

The fish was great and I kind of liked it that my embroidered luncheon mat from Marrakesh, Morocco, a dish from Arita which I actually bought in Arita having gone to the annual ceramics fair some years ago, and the kinome seem to match in design so much. 😀

A Few More Scenes from Morocco

What to me seemed different but typically Moroccan (place the cursor over each photo for what they are):-

Carved Wood Ceilings and Walls, Morocco

Found in mosques, Koranic schools, and palaces, they are stunningly beautiful.